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Cardinals' Oli Marmol Stays Behind Riley O'Brien Despite Struggles
Sep 7, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol (37) walks to the dugout after a pitching change in the seventh inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-Imagn Images IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Cardinals' Oli Marmol Stays Behind Riley O'Brien Despite Struggles

Originally posted on St. Louis Cardinals on SI
By Curt Bishop  |  Last updated Sep 17, 2026 4:00 PM ET
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Wednesday's game got away from the St. Louis Cardinals. After rallying late to tie the San Francisco Giants, the Cardinals fell in extra innings and dropped to 75-78 on the season. Now, just a loss or a win by the San Diego Padres will eliminate them from playoff contention.

At the center of their struggles has been All-Star closer Riley O'Brien, who had a strong first half. But things have obviously changed in the second half. While he leads the National League in saves, he also has his fair share of blown saves.

However, manager Oli Marmol gave no indication that a change at the closer spot is imminent, and instead expressed faith in the hard-throwing right-hander.

"It's one of those things where he needs to continue to plow through this, especially in the type of year that we're in," Marmol said on KMOX. "I don't have an issue running him out there and allowing him to figure it out. There's going to be times where it doesn't go our way, but he needs to learn how to actually deal with that and get on the other side of it in order to be an effective closer or just high leverage reliever. As long as we don't feel like we are risking injury by putting him out there, this is a mindset thing more than anything."

O'Brien took the loss on Wednesday and is now 3-9 with a 4.21 ERA. 37 saves is certainly impressive, but his season has taken a turn for the worst.

But with the Cardinals all but out of contention, there's not really an argument to suggest that they should pull him out of the closer's role with nine games remaining on the schedule. In truth, the Cardinals don't exactly have any better options.

George Soriano has flamed out, and they no longer have JoJo Romero in the bullpen. The bullpen itself has been the team's biggest weakness all season long, and that is something they'll have to look into upgrading in the offseason.

But for now, it's best for the Cardinals to stick with what they've got. It's not like they're gearing up for a postseason run. In fact, they're still rebuilding and are still probably a year or two away from being a true contender.

Pulling O'Brien from the closer's role this late in the season just wouldn't make sense. The Cardinals could add another arm capable of closing in the offseason to supplement him, but Marmol is ultimately right that he needs to fight through this.


This article first appeared on St. Louis Cardinals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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